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Thursday, September 23, 2010

You know how I love projects that are easy to make, inexpensive, and glittery! This autumn pumpkin patch project fits neatly into all three categories. I made my pumpkins out of scraps of wood that I had lying around from another project gone bust.

Here is what you need:

several chunks of wood that can stand up on their own

Holographic Glitter Sample Pack

White glue or Mod Podge

a 1 1/4" long piece of 1/4" wide dowel rod for each pumpkin (I cut my dowel rod into pieces with a kitchen knife)

green silk leaves (OK, these are not pumpkin leaves, but they were what I had, call it creative license)

a drill with a 1/4" bit

acrylic paint: orange and brown or green for stems

flat paintbrush

hot glue gun and glue

Try this:

1. Paint the wood pieces orange. You probably need a second coat. Let the first coat dry before painting the second. Also paint the stems. Let everything dry.

2. At the center top of each piece, drill a hole down into the wood. It does not have to be deep, 1/4" will do. Glue the stem into the hole. Repeat for each pumpkin.

3. Cover the front of the pumpkin with glue or Mod Podge. Sprinkle the glitter on while it is wet. I did not think I would have enough orange glitter to do 5 pumpkins, so I mixed the packet of orange with the packet of gold. It lightened the color a bit and made it seem even more sparkly. Glitter all of the pumpkins.

4. Use the glue gun to glue one or two leaves to each stem.

If you do not have scraps of wood sitting around, I think you could adapt this to many other objects. How about candles, jars, tin cans, spools, books? Look around the house and see what you have.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Fall is my favorite time of year. I am fascinated by the color process on the trees in my neighborhood. I picked a two green leaves off my own maple tree today for this project. It is very easy, allows for your own creativity. It is the perfect project to do with children.

You need:

a black shirt

some leaves

Sparkle 21 in a couple fall colors, I used Jungle Sparkle, Strawberry Sparkle, and Copper Sparkle

a flat paintbrush

Try this:

1. Squeeze some Sparkle 21 onto the front of a leaf. Use the brush to spread the liquid glitter to cover the leaf. It should be spread thickly. You can use more than one color on a leaf if you wish.

2. Press the leaf onto the shirt, glitter side down. Push all over the leaf with your fingers, transferring the glitter. Carefully lift the leaf.

3. Print as many leaves as you wish on the shirt. Let the shirt dry.

4. Loosely outline the leaves with Sparkle 21 straight out of the bottle tip. Let it dry at least 2 days before wearing.

Use different size and types of leaves and add in some gold glitter if you love it. Very autumnal!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Spring and summer have nothing on fall. On my walk this morning, I picked up a few fall decorations.... a few shiny sticks, a giant leaf, and some....whatever these other things are. They are like acorns, but the caps are larger and fuzzy. They intrigued me so I picked up a handful.

I sprayed a gloss finish on the parts and sprinkled holographic glitter over top, quickly before it dried. Gold on the acorns, orange on the sticks, red on the big leaf. I used glitter left over from my Holographic Sample Pack that I used earlier in the week to make leaf canvases.

Then just sat them all on the table with a candle. I have not even lit the candle yet and the room smells so good.

2. Trace the leaf on the boards. Place it however you want it on each.

3. Brush one leaf shape with glue. Sprinkle glitter over glue while wet. You have several nice fall color choices in the glitter sample pack. Use more than one color per leaf, if you want. Shake off the excess. Let the glue dry. Repeat for the other canvas.

4. Use a dry flat brush to brush away any excess glitter that sticks to the canvas in areas where you don't want any.

You can hang the canvases or prop them up against the wall on a shelf like I did. There is no reason for fall to be depressing with glitter leaves in the house!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

I think I am having a halloween flash-forward. If you plan for things like I do, you are not quite ready to start working on halloween, but it is on your mind......you are thinking about it. This is a great project for a teacher gift, or just a candy dish at home. It is very inexpensive. The glass bowl cost 99 cents. And it took me less than 15 minutes to make.

You need:

glass bud bowl (if you use a bigger bowl, you will need a truckload of orange candy)

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Oh, these shoes look so nice in the sunshine coming in through the window. I think they will sparkle in the lights of an evening out as well.

I bought these shoes at Payless for $18. They are American Eagle brand and cute and trendy as all get out. But, they needed some shine added to the zebra stripes.

I used Sparkle 21 in Crystal Sparkle and 10 mm clear AB sequins. I think smaller sequins would be even nicer, but I used what I had. I used around 300 10mm sequins for size 6 1/2 shoes. You will have to adjust the number for larger or smaller size shoes.

To make these, just squeeze out dots of Sparkle 21 and press sequins into them. Don't be stingy with the Sparkle 21. A good size dot will really make the sequins glittery. Press the sequins flat so they will not catch on anything when you wear the shoes.

Friday, September 10, 2010

I bought this teacup at IKEA a couple days ago. I was looking for something to set on my desk to hold my pretties. I always have a small pile of beads and trinkets that sit on my desk. It is sort of like a waiting place, maybe an evaluation place. I look at the beads until I decide the perfect project for them.

So, this coloring book teacup called to me and I knew I could color inside the lines with Sparkle 21.

And so I did. You could do the same. You don't even need the coloring book pattern on the cup and saucer. Just doodle.

Somehow, having the auditioning beads and trinkets in the teacup makes them seem even more interesting.

Wouldn't this be a great centerpiece? Paint three teacups and place them in the center of the table. A little Sparkle 21 will create table happiness!